Former Slovenian President Danilo Turk said on Sunday that strategic autonomy may become a requirement for the European Union (EU) in the future and that the bloc needs to recalibrate its relations with both China and the United States.
Turk was speaking about the increasing need for the EU to assume greater responsibility for its own well-being and security amid fraying relations with the United States, in an interview with the China Media Group on the sidelines of the 62nd Munich Security Conference in Germany.
He believes that Europe needs to move toward closer ties with China in the years to come.
"Strategic autonomy may become a requirement for European Union in the future. There is going to be a redefinition of relations between European Union and the United States of America. And I think that in the context of strategic autonomy, there will be a very intense need for European Union to look into its relations with China from a new perspective. And I believe that that is going to happen in the coming years. This is not something that can happen tomorrow, but let's say in the next year and the years later, it may be a major theme for both sides to discuss," Turk said.
This year's MSC ran from Friday to Sunday amid intense trade frictions, shifting security commitments, and diminished trust between the EU and the U.S.
European leaders present at the gathering on Saturday called for greater strategic autonomy, reflecting their growing anxieties over a fractured international order and a widening rift in transatlantic relations.
The Munich Security Report 2026 describes the current era as one of the "wrecking-ball politics", saying political forces favoring destruction over reform are gaining momentum across many Western societies, driven by disenchantment with the performance of democratic institutions and a loss of trust in political course correction.
Strategic autonomy required for EU's future: former Slovenian president
Strategic autonomy required for EU's future: former Slovenian president
China's domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber holds broad application prospects in strategic emerging industries, according to its developer.
The country on Wednesday unveiled SYT80, a domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, marking a major breakthrough in the China's high-performance carbon fiber technology.
This new material has achieved a hundred-tonne-level annual production capacity, making China the first nation to mass-produce this caliber of fiber, according to its developer, China National Building Material Group Co., Ltd. (CNBM).
Featuring lightweight and high-strength properties, the fiber's diameter is less than one-tenth that of a human hair, and yet its tensile strength is 10 times that of ordinary steel and its density is only one-quarter of steel's.
"Compared with the previous-generation T1100, T1200 has seen its tensile strength increase by more than 14 percent. With its ultimate lightweight and high-strength characteristics, T1200 can achieve weight reduction of over 10 percent for equipment in related fields. It holds broad application prospects in strategic emerging industries such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, and humanoid robots," said Chen Qiufei, head of T1200 ultra-high-strength carbon fiber research and development at Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Company, a subsidiary of China National Building Material Group.
The new material also possesses many other outstanding properties.
As the fiber undergoes carbonization at nearly 2,000 degrees Celsius during production, its chemical properties remain stable and its corrosion resistance is excellent.
This fiber material also features strong fire and flame retardant properties, offering good safety performance.
The development of this fiber material demonstrates China's fully independent and controllable capabilities across the entire industrial chain of high-performance carbon fiber, spanning technologies and equipment as well as the transition from laboratory research to mass production, said Zhou Yuxian, chairman of CNBM.
China's high-strength carbon fiber shows strong potential in strategic emerging industries
